New Haven region leads state in March job losses

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New Haven area lost jobs in March

Christopher Hoffman

The New Haven area accounted for most of the drop in jobs in the state in March, according to the state Department of Labor.

The state lost 2,000 jobs last month, with 1,700 of the decline coming in the New Haven region. In spite of the reduction in overall number of jobs, the state's unemployment rate fell from 4.6 percent in February to 4.5 percent last month, according to the labor department.

While the state's jobless rate has improved from 4.9 percent a year ago, it's still higher than the nation's 4.1 percent unemployment rate, the labor department said.

Virtually all of the job losses came in the private sector, according to the state. Four of the 10 employment subsectors saw declines, five increases and one stayed the same, the state said. Subsectors that saw employment declines were trade, transportation, utilities and especially travel and leisure, which alone shed 1,300 jobs, the state said.

Andy Condon, the labor department's director of the office of research, said in a statement it was the state's first jobs decline since October. The reduction may have been caused by the string of storms that pummeled the state last month, he said.

"The largest declines were in retail trade and accommodations and food services, both of which may have been adversely affected by the nor'easters last month," Condon said.

The labor news was not all bad. The Hartford region picked up 600 jobs, while the Danbury area ticked up 200 positions. The Waterbury, Norwich-New London and Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk regions all saw small job declines.

The number of Jobs in construction, professional and business services, healthcare and information services all increased, while the financial services subsector was flat.